John Calvin Commentary Psalms 102:13

"Thou wilt arise, and have mercy upon Zion; For it is time to have pity upon her, Yea, the set time is come." — Psalms 102:13 (ASV)

You shall arise, and have mercy upon Zion. We have here the conclusion drawn from the truth stated in the preceding verse: God is eternal, and therefore he will have compassion upon Zion. God’s eternity is to be considered as impressed upon the memorial, or word, by which he has brought himself under obligation to maintain our welfare.

Besides, as he is not lacking power, and as it is impossible for him to deny himself, we should not have any fear of his failing to accomplish, in his own time, what he has promised. We have observed in another place that the verb to arise refers to what is made apparent to our senses; for although he continues always unchangeable, yet, in exerting his power, he manifests his majesty by the external act, as it is called.

When the prophet speaks of the restoration of the Church, he presents the divine mercy as its cause. He represents this mercy under a twofold aspect and therefore employs different words. In the first place, as in the matter under consideration, the merits of men are entirely out of the question, and as God cannot be motivated by any cause external to himself to build up his Church, the prophet traces its cause solely to the free goodness of God.

In the second place, he contemplates this mercy as connected with the Divine promises. You shall have mercy upon Zion, for the time appointed, according to your good pleasure, has come. Meanwhile, it is to be observed that in magnifying the Divine mercy, his purpose was to teach true believers that their safety depended on it alone.

But we must now consider what time is being referred to. The word מועד, moed, signifies all kinds of fixed or appointed days. There is, then, beyond all doubt, a reference to the prophecy of Jeremiah, recorded in Jeremiah 29:10, and repeated in 2 Chronicles 36:21.

So that the faithful might not sink into despondency through the long duration of their calamities, they needed to be supported by the hope that an end to their captivity had been appointed by God and that it would not extend beyond seventy years.

Daniel was meditating on this very topic when he set his face unto the Lord God, to seek, by prayer and supplications, the re-establishment of the Church (Daniel 9:2). Similarly, the prophet's current aim was to encourage both himself and others to confidence in prayer, reminding God of this remarkable prophecy as an argument to persuade him to end their sorrowful captivity.

And surely, if in our prayers we do not continually remember the Divine promises, we only cast our desires into the air like smoke. However, it should be noted that although the time of the promised deliverance was approaching, or had already arrived, the prophet does not cease from prayer, to which God stirs us up through his word.

And although the time was fixed, yet he calls upon God for the performance of his covenant in such a way that he is still resorting to his free goodness alone; for the promises by which God brings himself under obligation to us do not in any way obscure his grace.